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Jun 24, 2009 6:19 pm US/Eastern
New Lighting Can Make A New Home
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
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Lighting can be an inexpensive and quick way to transform your décor.
CBS4 News
Are you trying to freshen up your home without breaking the bank? It doesn't have to be expensive or complicated. In fact, you can change the way your home looks with the flip of a switch!
Lighting can be an inexpensive and quick way to transform your décor. "It's really just a way to accent all of your other beautiful things and really just create an artful look," explained lighting expert Lucy Dearborn.
According to Dearborn, there are four types of lighting home decorators think about. The first is ambient lighting, which is general lighting in a room. This sort of lighting usually comes from overhead fixtures or a table or floor lamp.
Task lighting is more like spot-lighting. It can be as simple as a halogen desk lamp or as complicated as under-cabinet lighting in a kitchen.
Accent lighting involves focusing on something specific, like a painting. Last is decorative, a form that doesn't give a lot of light but provides something beautiful to look at, like candles and sconces.
You probably have more options to change your lighting than you realize. It could be as simple as changing your pendants, or adding pendants over an island or peninsula.
If you have recessed lights and you are using incandescent bulbs, you may want to upgrade to a halogen bulb. It will give the lighting a bit more "pop". Using dimmers to reduce the amount of power by just ten percent can double the life of your light bulbs. If you don't need a lot of light at the end of the day, dimming the lights can help put you in a more serene state.
Adding track lighting or sconces can be a little more expensive, but according to Dearborn, there are other options, including compact fluorescents and LED lights. Familiar and well-loved table and floors lamps can easily get a new lampshade.
If you're trying something more ambitious, however, Dearborn recommends you ask an electrician, especially if you are changing a fixture in an older home.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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